Pasquale “Pat” Antonelli

Pasquale J. “Pat” Antonelli, age 84 of Wayne, died peacefully at home on Saturday, August 28, 2021. He has lived in Wayne for approximately fifteen years.

Pat grew up in Belleville, NJ, the only child to Fred and Frances Antonelli. He graduated from Belleville High School with the class of ’56, where he was known as the hot guy in the black Oldsmobile (according to his x-wife). After high school, he briefly worked on the receiving docks for a company called Uarco before landing with Open Country Shoe Stores, rising to become district manager of several area stores. In 1984, he bought the T-Bowl Pro Shop (from his best friend Vinny Spranza), located at the T-Bowl Lanes in Wayne, which he operated until his retirement. Pat was an avid bowler, a proud member of the Bowler Hall of Fame, and he scored more than 8 “300” games and multiple "299" games during his bowling career. Besides running the pro shop, he also served as the “Bowling Pro” at T-Bowl for many years. In the evenings, after closing up the pro shop, he would often socialize at the bar, ordering his favorite “vodka-tonic with two limes!”

Pat also loved all types of cars, hence the nickname “Cadillac Pat.” When Pontiac announced final production of the Trans-Am 2002, he bought one and has kept it ever since. He loved music, always had a radio nearby, and was a big fan of CHICAGO. He also enjoyed keeping himself in shape, and visited Jack LaLanne fitness in Wayne for many years until it closed, and then switched over to Crunch Fitness, where you could find him exercising religiously, three times each week (or socializing). He enjoyed working on his tan just as much, and you could find him at Tom’s Lake or the Wayne Township Pool every day of the season, without fail! The Jersey Shore, Aruba, and Atlantis in the Bahamas, were tops on his vacation list.

A huge fan of the NY YANKEES and the SAN FRANSISCO 49ers, Pat particularly enjoyed the strategic details of just about any sport. He was so keen on baseball that he knew the pitches that would be thrown before they would even leave the glove, and the plays that would be called. Of course, he learned the importance of all of this in his younger years, running the local sportsbook, which no one’s supposed to know about, but everyone did!

Pat was affectionately called “Bowling Pop” by his four grandchildren. He truly adored them as much as they adored him. They vacationed together, enjoyed holidays together, and he especially looked forward to his annual Friday night dinner with Kevin "Jr". He was a devoted grandfather and he loves them all very much. They will miss him dearly, and they each have great memories to cherish for years to come.

Pat is survived by his daughter, Caprice Vieldhouse ("Monk") and her husband Kevin of Wayne, anyone who knew Pat knew his daughter was his whole world and he was often heard saying "he couldn't have asked for a better son in law".  Pat is also survived by his four grandchildren; Stephanie Shepard of Harriman, NY, Kevin Vieldhouse, Jr., Korey Vieldhouse, and Carli Jo Vieldhouse, all of Wayne.